New Number
by thementalist2
Summary: The Machine wants a new asset and settles on Aaron Hotchner. When his number comes up, the two teams must work together in order to stop the threats headed his way. But, one threat hits the BAU and puts a team member's life in danger. Can the threats be stopped? Will everyone survive? Please R&R!
1. Hotch, Your number's up

"_You are being watched. The government has a secret system, a machine that spies on you every hour of every day. I designed the machine to detect acts of terror, but it sees everything. Violent crimes involving ordinary people. The government considers these people irrelevant. We don't. You'll never find us, but victim or perpetrator, if your number's up, (a picture of Hotch appears), we'll find you." _

The machine, or the secret government system, was designed to protect the lives of innocent people. It also predicted crimes, and whether the person involved was the victim or the perpetrator. 99.99% of people had no idea that the machine existed. But today, a new asset was selected, and the lucky person had no clue whatsoever that he was being watched.

***New York, The Library***

John Reese walked into the computer room to find his boss and best friend Harold Finch busy working away.

"Good morning, Mr. Reese," Finch said.

"Morning Finch."

"You have impeccable timing. The machine just gave us a new number."

"Wow, this early in the day? Must be very important."

"Our number is a Mr. Aaron Hotchner. He is an FBI agent who works for the Behavioral Analysis Unit. Has one son, Jack. His ex-wife, Haley was murdered four years ago by a serial killer known as the Boston Reaper. And where is Ms. Shaw?"

"I'm here, Finch," Samantha Shaw said.

"Has anyone made any threats against Mr. Hotchner?" Reese asked.

"None, so far. His team enjoys him very much and the girlfriend, Ms. Emily Prentiss doesn't look like a threat."

"Where does Mr. Hotchner live?"

"Quantico, Virginia. I have created two identities for you to keep an eye on our number."

***Quantico, Virginia, BAU* **

John and Samantha walked into the BAU and spotted Hotch talking to one of his team members.

"Finch, I have eyes on Mr. Hotchner," Shaw said into her earpiece.

"Where is JJ? She hasn't shown up to work yet?" Hotch shouted at his team.

"Haven't seen her," Agent Derek Morgan replied, not even looking up from the huge pile of papers on his desk.

Shaw and Reese were keeping their distance as Finch spoke to them.

"That was Agent Derek Morgan. He's one of the team members, is engaged to the technical analyst Penelope Garcia. Doesn't appear to be a threat," Finch said.

"Who is this JJ?" Reese asked.

"Hmm, one second. Yes, JJ, or by her full name, Jennifer Jareau. Another member of the team. Has a husband, Doctor Spencer Reid, and a son, Henry. Mr. Reid is also a member of the team."

"Ok, how many team members does this guy have?" Shaw asked.

"So far, six. Ms. Prentiss, Mr. Morgan, Dr. Reid, Ms. Garcia, Ms. Jareau, and Mr. Dave Rossi."

Reese forced-paired, or hacked, into the Unit Chief's cell phone to hopefully eliminate any threats.

Hotch's desk phone rang, startling him. He put the phone on speaker.

"Agent Hotchner speaking," he said.

"Aaron? How lovely to hear your voice. But anyway, I'm going to get to the point. I think I have something of yours," an unfamiliar voice said.

"Who is this?" he demanded.

"Finch, you hearing this?" Reese asked.

"Yes, and already I've got a bad feeling about this," he said.

"Hotch?" a woman's voice came over the line.

"JJ! Are you ok?"

"I'm ok for the moment," she answered.

"Looks like Ms. Jareau has been abducted. I just hacked into the camera outside her garage and it shows her being drugged and thrown in the trunk of a dark car," Finch said.

"Can you find a license plate?" Reese asked.

"I'm zooming in on the car. Yes, the license plate is 6HFR5409. I've sent that number to Detective Fusco, and hopefully we will get a hit."

Just then, Finch's phone rang.

"Detective, good timing," Finch said.

"The car belongs to her ex-husband Will LaMontagne Jr. They had some marriage issues, and Ms. Jareau complained that her husband was cheating on her. I found out that he has a house on the outskirts of Quantico," Fusco responded.

"Thank you, detective."

"Anything else, Glasses?"

"Not at the moment, but I will call if we need something else."

Once Fusco hung up, Finch turned his attention back to the mysterious person.

"You will come alone, Hotchner, if you want to see JJ again. Meet me at the abandoned warehouse in 10 minutes. Or, don't bother to show up," the voice said, hanging up.

"I want to kill this creep," Reid snapped. "He better not have laid a finger on her, or he will pay."

"Finch, did you get all that?" Shaw asked.

"Yes, I did, and I'm sending you the coordinates for the warehouse now," the engineer said.

"Got them."

Reese and Shaw watched as Hotch grabbed his Glock 26 and headed out to his car. They quietly followed behind and borrowed a Ferrari.

***Quantico, Virginia, Abandoned Warehouse***

Reese and Shaw pulled into the parking lot of the warehouse. They watched Hotch get out of his car, tucking his gun into his jacket.

"Alright, when do we go in?" Shaw asked.

"Once he follows the guy inside," Reese responded.

They saw a Hispanic man open the door and signal for Hotch to enter.

"Now," Reese said. He and Shaw pulled out their guns and quietly followed the profiler.

Meanwhile, the Hispanic man had discovered that Hotch had a gun.

"Agent Hotchner, do you think I'm stupid? Why would you even think about bringing a gun?" the man sneered, snatching it out of the profiler's hand. Hotch then felt cold metal pressing into his back.

Reese found two other men following Hotch and the ex-CIA agent realized that Aaron was in danger.

The profiler was lead into a brightly lit room and found JJ, bound and gagged to a chair.

"It's your life for hers," the Hispanic man said, signaling for his other partners to untie the agent.

"It's done," Hotch said.

One of the partners pulled out a Taser and shocked him in the side, causing him to lose his balance.

"You made a choice and you're not going anywhere," the leader snapped.

Reese was hiding behind a large stack of wooden crates when Finch suddenly spoke in his ear.

"Mr. Reese, the Machine just gave us a new number, and it's not looking good," Finch said.

"Who's number?"

"David Rossi. One of Mr. Hotchner's team members. And oh no, the threat is coming from inside the BAU. One of the agents is a mole!"

"I'll send Shaw to neutralize the threat."

"And hurry, Mr. Rossi is in grave danger."

"Shaw, you need to get back to the BAU. Mr. Rossi's number came up and he is in grave danger. I'll stay here and get Ms. Jareau and Mr. Hotchner to safety," Reese said.

Shaw did not need to be told twice. She stealthily snuck out of the warehouse and headed out to the car.

Just as the partner were about to shock Hotch with the Taser again, Reese fired twice and kneecapped both men. The leader reached for his gun, but Reese kneecapped him as well.

JJ and Hotch stared at the ex-agent in shock.

"Who are you?" they both asked.

"A concerned third party. You need to come with me, Aaron, your life is in danger as well as Mr. Rossi's. I need to get both of you to a safe location," Reese said.

"Ok, but where did you come from?" JJ said.

"I'm just the guy who shows up at the right place at the right time."

"We can take my car," Hotch said.

"I'm driving."

In less than 10 minutes, both profilers were back at the BAU, being greeted warmly by the team.

Shaw walked into the bullpen with a worried look on her face.

"I lost him, John," she said without any introduction.

"You mean Mr. Rossi?" he asked.

"Yes. When I got to the building, I saw someone dragging him to a car. I started firing, but the person was faster. I chased him for about two minutes, but lost him at a red light."

Reese pulled Shaw aside and called Finch.

"Mr. Reese, good timing, I was about to call you. Were you able to rescue Mr. Rossi?" Finch asked.

"No, unfortunately. Someone abducted him and Shaw tried to stop the perpetrator, but lost him at a red light. But I was able to rescue Ms. Jareau and Mr. Hotchner," Reese said.

"Ms. Shaw, did you get a look at the license plate?"

"No. He was gone before I could get a good look at it," she replied.

"Alright, I'll start tracing Mr. Rossi's cell phone. And you two stay close to the team. I want you to get some info on our number."

"Will do, Finch," Reese said.

He and Shaw walked back into the bullpen and explained the situation to the profilers. They were all worried for the safety of their friend.

***Unknown Location* **

David Rossi awoke to a headache. The last thing he remembered was walking out of the break room and someone had clamped a cloth over his mouth. He knew who was talking to him, but before he could cry for help, the chloroform hit his lungs and everything went black.

A door opened and someone walked in, holding a roll of duct tape and a burner phone.

"Well, well, good to see that you're awake. I was hoping you would be. But first things first, we need to talk to your little BAU friends. Then, the fun begins," the person said.

A strip of tape was ripped off and placed over his mouth, gagging him.

"You don't get to speak quite yet. Because then, it's not going to be as fun."

The person pressed some buttons, held the phone up to his ear, and waited.

"Hello?" Hotch's voice came over the line.

"Is this a bad time? Because I'm sure you'll want back what I have, won't you? Want to say hello?" the perpetrator taunted. He ripped the tape off Rossi's mouth.

"Hotch?" the older profiler asked.

"Have fun searching for him because you don't stand a chance."

The line went dead.

**TBC…**


	2. Emily, you're in danger

***BAU***

Hotch's blood boiled. He was going to kill the creep holding his best friend hostage.

"Who was that?" Prentiss asked.

"Rossi's abductor," the profiler said.

"Finch, you getting this?" Shaw asked into her earpiece.

"I tried tracing the call, but it was either done on a burner phone or the GPS was turned off, so I have no way to determine a location," Finch said.

"Garcia, were you able to trace it?" JJ asked.

"No, must have been done on a burner phone," Garcia said.

***Unknown Location***

"Well, that was a lot of fun," the unsub sneered. "Your boss is going to love searching for you. He would do anything to get you back alive."

"They will find you," Rossi snapped, his anger building up by the second.

"Silly me, I forgot to put the tape back on, duh! I don't want to hear you screaming."

The unsub ripped off another piece of tape and gagged his prisoner.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go and pick up my friends, and then the fun begins." The door was shut and locked.

Rossi silently prayed that Hotch and the team would find him soon.

***BAU***

Hotch and Emily were searching through Rossi's active and recent cases to try and narrow down a list of possible suspects. So far, they haven't had any luck.

Reese and Shaw were trying to find Will's car to figure out Rossi's location.

"Finch, can you look through the traffic cameras and see if you could find the car that Ms. Jareau was abducted in?" Shaw asked. "Also, Fusco said that Will owned a house on the outskirts of Quantico. Can you send me the address? Reese and I will check it out and see if we can find any clues."

"Sure," Finch replied. "And Ms. Groves just walked in, hold on one second."

***The Library***

"Ms. Groves, what can I do for you?" Finch asked.

"I received two numbers, the first one being Emily Prentiss and the second Will LaMontagne Jr," Samantha Groves, aka Root, said.

***BAU***

"Mr. Reese, we have a problem," Finch said. "Root just received two more numbers, one of them being Ms. Jareau's ex-husband."

"Is he the victim or the perpetrator?" Reese asked.

"Not sure yet, but the second number is Mr. Hotchner's girlfriend Emily Prentiss. Get her to a safe location now."

Reese walked over to the conference room.

"Emily, I need you to come with me. Your life is in danger, and I need to get you to a safe location."

"Who are you, by the way?" Reid asked.

"A concerned third party and the guy working very hard to save David Rossi."

Emily followed Reese out of the conference room. They got into his car and drove to a hotel about 15 minutes from the BAU.

"You're safe here. I want you to stay here until I can figure out who is threatening your life," he said. He walked into the hotel and got her a room.

Reese drove back to the BAU, and found Shaw waiting outside for him.

"Finch sent me the coordinates of our other number's house, so we should probably head over there now," she said.

10 minutes later, they pulled up in front of the house.

***Will LaMontagne's house***

"Finch, we found the car that JJ was abducted in," Shaw said into her phone.

"That's good," he said.

"We're going inside now."

Reese and Shaw pulled out their guns and opened the trunk. A large amount of blood had soaked into the carpet.

"Finch, there's blood on the trunk's carpet," Shaw said.

"But that doesn't make any sense. Ms. Jareau wasn't bleeding when she was abducted."

"That's why I'm thinking that there is a second victim."

Reese walked over to the front door and kicked it open.

"Shaw, get over here now!"

She came inside and couldn't believe what she saw.

Will's bloody and beaten body was lying on the floor.

"Finch, our case just went from bad to worse," Reese said.

"Why?"

"Because Will LaMontagne is dead. We just found his body. Looks like he was in a fight."

"Is Ms. Prentiss safe?"

"Yes, I got her to a hotel about 15 minutes from the BAU."

"Good. You might want to get the team over to Will's house and have them investigate."

"Will do, Finch."

***Unknown Location***

"Boys, we have a problem," the Hispanic leader said.

"What's the problem?" one of the men asked.

"Two agents just found LaMontagne's body and moved Emily Prentiss to a hotel. But lucky for you, I got the address. Go get Emily and bring her to me."

"Certainly, boss."

The two men grabbed assault rifles as they headed out the door.

Once they left, the leader grabbed a knife and walked into the room where Rossi was being held. He began panicking once he saw the awful piece of metal in the man's hand.

"Well, Mr. Rossi, let the fun begin," the leader sneered.

***The Library***

"Harold, Ms. Prentiss is in danger! Two men with assault rifles are heading to her room!" Root said.

Finch dialed Reese.

***LaMontagne Residence***

Reese was searching for any evidence as to how Will died when his phone suddenly rang.

"Finch, what's up?"

"You need to get to the hotel now. Two men are going after Ms. Prentiss!"

"I'm on my way."

Finch hung up and Reese explained the situation to Shaw.

"Alright then, let's go," she said.

***Quantico, Virginia, Hotel***

Emily sat down on her bed watching TV when the door suddenly opened. Two men with assault rifles entered, pointing their weapons at her.

"Emily Prentiss, it's an honor to finally meet you," one of the men said. He signaled something and before she could do anything, she was unconscious.

"Mission accomplished."

**TBC...**


	3. Reese, you're in trouble

***Hotel***

Reese and Shaw ran into the hotel, guns pointed straight in front of them, silencers on. They saw Emily's door open and two men walk out carrying her unconscious body.

"Not so fast!" Reese said, firing once and kneecapping his target. The second man threw a punch at him, but Shaw kneecapped the man. Reese caught Emily before she hit the ground.

"Let's get out of here and get her to the airport. She needs to get out of the state along with the rest of the team. I have a feeling that we are going to receive all of their numbers," he said.

Shaw pulled out her phone and dialed Finch.

"Ms. Shaw, good timing," he said. "Did you rescue Ms. Prentiss?"

"Yes we did, we took out both of them. Reese is going to take her to the airport. I think she needs to get out of the state."

"And where do you plan on sending her?"

"New York. Detective Fusco would probably be able to keep a good eye on her."

"Alright, I will call him and tell him the situation."

Finch hung up, and Shaw passed the info along to Reese. He saw that Emily was beginning to come around.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"A concerned third party and the guy who just saved your life," Reese said. "Your life is still in grave danger and I need to get you somewhere safe. You're going out of the state for a while."

He handed her an envelope which contained several hundred dollars and a plane ticket.

"Your flight leaves in two hours, and it will take you to New York. A detective at the NYPD is going to look after you."

"Thank you," Emily said, taking the envelope.

"Shaw, you should probably alert the team about Will's body. I'll take her to the airport."

Reese drove Shaw to the BAU, dropped her off, and got Emily to the airport in time.

"Thank you for everything," Prentiss said before she walked through the gate.

"You're welcome," Reese said. After watching her get through ticketing and in the line for security, he headed back towards the BAU.

***BAU***

Shaw was trying to calm the team down. They all became upset after learning that Emily was leaving the state.

Reese walked in to find four angry profilers.

"What do you mean she's gone?" Hotch demanded. "That's my girlfriend we're talking about here!"

"Mr. Hotchner, her life was in danger. She was being kidnapped and my partner and I took out both men. There's a detective at the NYPD who is going to keep her safe. We just need to figure out who is threatening your lives. And Will LaMontagne is dead. We found his body in his living room. But I don't think that he was killed in his house," Reese said.

"What makes you say that?" Reid asked.

"In the trunk of his car, there was a huge amount of blood on the carpet."

"Alright, then, wheels up in five," Hotch said.

***Unknown Location***

"Oh, come on, Mr. Rossi, you can't be scared of a little knife torture," the leader said. "Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you. I just want to make your boss suffer. Let's give him a call, shall we?"

He revealed the same burner phone and dialed Hotch.

***BAU***

The Unit Chief was about to call Emily and wish her a good flight when he felt his phone vibrating. An unknown number.

"Garcia, I need you to run a trace on this call!" he shouted. "I think our friend's back."

"On it, boss," she replied.

"Agent Hotchner," he said, putting his phone on speaker. JJ, Reid, and Morgan joined him in the conference room and braced themselves for what the unsub was going to say. Reese and Shaw were outside the room, listening to every word in the conversation.

"Why, Aaron, I'm surprised you aren't out looking for your best friend. Why is that?" the unsub taunted.

"What do you want?"

"Rossi wants to talk to you, but we're having too much fun that he's unavailable at the moment."

The sound of tape being ripped off was heard.

"You'll beg for death. Let Aaron hear you scream because he can't do anything to save you. I'll just stand around and watch him fall apart," he said to Rossi.

The profiler screamed in agony as the knife cut him.

"You hear that, Aaron? There's nothing you can do. NOTHING. You'll be too late."

"I'm not scared of you," Hotch snapped. "I'm just going to put a bullet in your head once I find you."

"Ha, nice try. But you don't stand a chance. You have no evidence."

Rossi let out a few more agonizing screams, which just causes Hotch's hands to clench into fists.

"You will pay. You will rot in a prison cell if I don't shoot you first," the Unit Chief threatened.

"Good luck with that."

The line went dead.

***The Library***

Finch had heard every word of the conversation since Reese had force-paired Hotch's phone. He was trying to use vocal recognition to try and identify the mysterious person.

However, the Machine was using facial recognition to locate Rossi. It found him in another abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of Quantico.

Finch received a text from the Machine. It listed the address of the abandoned warehouse.

"Mr. Reese, the Machine just found Mr. Rossi," the engineer said into his earpiece.

"Harold, I discovered the identity of one of the men who abducted Emily. It's John Greer," Root said, walking over to him.

"And Mr. Reese, we have a situation."

"What's going on, Finch?" Reese asked.

"I've got good news and bad news. The good news is that the Machine just found Mr. Rossi's location. He's in an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of Quantico. The bad news is that Samaritan's owner John Greer is one of the men who abducted Ms. Prentiss."

***BAU***

Reese was astounded to hear the name of one of the kidnappers. He had been trying to take this man down ever since his project Samaritan had gone online. Samaritan was a system similar to the Machine, but was becoming more powerful. Many people were going to die because this system was online.

"Greer? Seriously, Finch?"

"Yes, I'm serious. Ms. Groves told me," Finch said. "And I sent you Mr. Rossi's location."

"Just got the text now. And what about the other kidnapper? Did Root figure out the identity?"

"She's still working on it. Please hurry, Mr. Rossi's being tortured."

"Do we tell the team how we know where he is?"

"We may have too."

Finch hung up, and Reese turned his attention to Shaw.

"The Machine just found Mr. Rossi. He's in a warehouse on the outskirts of the city," Reese said.

"Let's go make some noise," she said, cocking her gun and putting a silencer on it. Reese did the same.

***Abandoned Warehouse***

Reese and Shaw pulled up in front of the warehouse 10 minutes later. Pointing their guns in front of them, they entered the warehouse and found it silent.

"Shaw, go find Rossi. I'm going to look for the kidnappers," he said.

"Sure thing," she said, walking away.

Once she was out of sight, Reese suddenly tensed up. He felt someone's presence behind him and kneecapped a guy sneaking up behind him. But he failed to notice the other man hiding behind some crates that were nearby.

"Well, well, we meet again," the man called out. Reese spun around and came face-to-face with Samaritan's owner, John Greer.

Reese pulled out his gun, but he suddenly felt pain in the back of his neck and slumped to the ground. As he was becoming paralyzed and losing his vision, a cloth was pressed into his face and a sweet smell filled the air.

"I have so many plans for you," was the last thing Reese heard before falling unconscious.

**TBC...**


	4. Finch, your partner needs help

***Abandoned Warehouse***

Shaw walked into a run-down room and found David Rossi, bound and gagged to a chair.

"I'm going to get you out of here," she said, pulling out a pocketknife and cutting the zip-ties. She removed the tape and handed him a backup gun.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"Samantha. I'm a concerned third party who saves people's lives. My partner and I have saved Emily and Aaron's lives, and now, we just saved yours."

"Are they at the BAU?"

"Emily is not. She's heading to New York and a detective is going to keep her safe. My partner is getting plane tickets for the rest of you to head there as well. We want you safe until we can eliminate the threats headed your way."

Rossi and Shaw walked towards the warehouse's exit and spotted the man that Reese kneecapped...but no Reese.

"I know him!" Shaw said, referring to the man lying in pain on the ground. "I'll take him along and hopefully get some info as to why people are trying to kill you and the team."

She pulled out handcuffs and duct tape, and secured her prisoner. However, Rossi spotted a cell phone and gun off in the distance.

"I found something!" the profiler said.

Shaw dragged the kneecapped man over to where Rossi was.

"Oh my- no, it's not possible! These are my partner's!" she cried.

"I'll call my team and tell them to get over here."

Shaw tossed Rossi her phone.

***BAU***

Hotch noticed that his phone was vibrating. Another unknown number.

"Garcia, need a trace on this call!" he shouted. He put the phone on speaker.

"Hello?"

"Hotch, it's Rossi."

"Rossi! Are you alright? Where are you?"

"I'm ok and I'm sending you my location now. Also, bring a CSU team; I think we have another victim."

"Alright, we're coming."

"Is Rossi ok?" JJ asked once her boss had hung up.

"Yes, he's ok. I need you and Reid to go to Will's house and bring a few CSU techs with you. Morgan and I are going to get Rossi. We'll meet you at the house after," Hotch said.

The profilers gathered a CSU team and headed off to their respective locations.

***A car, Unknown Location***

Reese opened his eyes. His vision was blurry and he discovered that his hands were restrained behind him with handcuffs. A large piece of duct tape was covering his mouth and he was unable to do anything.

He concluded that he was in the trunk of a car and that it was moving because he could hear music playing and the engine running. A few minutes later, the car pulled off to the side of the road. Footsteps were heard and the trunk door was opened.

Reese recognized the man immediately.

"We're here, get out," the man snapped, forcing him out of the trunk.

Reese looked around at his new surroundings. There wasn't anything but acres of farmland.

"Try anything funny, and you get a bullet to the chest."

Reese was led into a building and into a back room. He was tied to a chair.

"We are going to have a nice chat with your boss. Otherwise, if you don't cooperate, I will hurt that pretty girlfriend of yours. Samantha Shaw, right?" The tape was ripped off.

"No, she's not my girlfriend," Reese said. "But don't hurt her. Do what you want to me, but leave her alone."

"I don't take orders from you. I give the orders."

He revealed a burner phone and dialed Finch's number.

The man ripped off another strip of tape and gagged Reese.

"I don't want to hear you screaming for your boss yet. I'll break his little heart. He'll fall apart after learning that his partner's been kidnapped."

The phone continued to ring…

***The Library***

"Harold, your phone is buzzing," Root said.

Finch answered the call.

"Hello? Mr. Reese?"

"Sorry, but Reese can't make it to the phone right now. He's a bit tied up and gagged at the moment," an unfamiliar voice said.

"I'll try tracing the call," Root mouthed.

The Machine was trying to locate its asset using facial recognition.

"Who is this?" Finch demanded.

"That's not important. I think what should matter to you is that your partner is mine. And don't bother tracing this call; it's on a burner phone," the voice continued.

The tape was ripped off.

"Don't try anything stupid. You remember our deal? Samantha gets hurt if you don't obey."

"Finch?" Reese said while glaring daggers at his kidnapper.

"Mr. Reese? Are you alright?"

"I'm alright at the moment."

"Fusco is working this case as we speak. We're trying to find you."

"Sorry, but you won't find him in time," the man's voice said. "I wish you the best of luck."

"He will find you!" Reese threatened. "And then the FBI will come next. You will rot in prison for the rest of your pathetic life."

"Enough out of you." The man gagged him with the tape again. "Not another word."

"Let him go," Finch demanded angrily.

"No way. You don't stand a chance."

The man hung up.

"Sorry, Harold, I couldn't trace it," Root said disappointedly.

***LaMontagne Residence***

JJ and Reid entered the house, guns drawn. No one else was around except for the CSU techs.

She took a good look at her ex's body, spotting bumps on his head. The place was also ransacked, books thrown on the floor and broken glass everywhere.

"JJ, I found a piece of glass with blood on it," Reid said, slipping on a pair of gloves. The CSU techs did a careful sweep of the house, picking up piece after piece of evidence.

***Abandoned Warehouse***

Morgan and Hotch entered the warehouse looking for any signs of life. The two men heard footsteps.

"FBI, show yourselves!" the Unit Chief shouted, gun pointed in front of him.

"Hotch, it's just me," Rossi said.

Both profilers lowered their weapons and ran over to their friend.

"Rossi! Thank goodness you're alright! Where's the creep so I can murder him?" Morgan asked.

"Samantha arrested one of them, and I have no idea where the second one is."

Shaw walked over to the three men, dragging her prisoner with her.

"Is this the creep?"

"One of them," Rossi said.

***BAU, Two hours later***

Rossi and Hotch sat across the table from their suspect in the interrogation room. JJ and Reid were sharing the details about Will's death with Morgan.

"So, Mr. Hersh, why did you kidnap a federal agent? That's a serious offense," Hotch said.

"I was paid," Hersh said.

"By whom?"

"I don't know; I've never seen his face. He always wears a mask. I was paid a million dollars to kidnap Mr. Rossi. I was also paid to kidnap Ms. Prentiss. My boss told me where she was."

"Are there others involved in this crimes?"

"I have a partner, John Greer. I don't know where he is. My boss has also mentioned a third partner, but I've never seen him or her. That's all I know."

In the conference room, JJ was talking about the broken glass.

"Will's blood was on the glass. I'm thinking that whoever attacked him shot him first, then put him in his car, drove to the house, and beat him up until he died. He smashed into the window, which seems to match the patterns I found on his skull."

"The bullet matched a 9 millimeter gun that belongs to one Ulrich Kohl. He's been wanted for murder in Russia and New York," Reid said.

He walked over to JJ and put his hands on her waist and pulled her closer to him. "I was so worried about you, JJ. When you were taken, I said that if he hurt you, then he would pay."

"I was worried about you, too," she replied.

"Get a room, you two," someone said. Reid turned around and saw his boss.

"Sorry," Reid said.

"I'm just joking, you're already married, so it doesn't matter."

Hotch's phone buzzed.

"Hello?"

"Can. You. Hear. Me?" a robot-like voice asked.

"Who is this?"

"111-78-123," the voice said before hanging up.

"Who was that, Hotch?" Rossi said.

"I'm not sure, but whoever it was told me a series of numbers," the Unit Chief said.

"What were the numbers?"

"111-78-123."

Reid wrote the numbers down on the whiteboard and Shaw, outside the conference room, wrote the numbers down on a notepad. Thinking that the Machine just gave out another number, she dialed Finch.

***The Library***

"Ms. Shaw, I've got bad news," Finch said, after answering the call.

"What's the bad news?" she asked.

"Mr. Reese has been abducted."

"I have his cell phone and gun. And I think the Machine just sent out another number. 111-78-123. Also, I think the Machine just called Mr. Hotchner."

Finch typed the information into his computer and got some shocking results.

"Ms. Shaw, those numbers you gave me are not a social security number. They are the first nine digits of a passport number. And why did the Machine call Mr. Hotchner?"

"Perhaps it's looking for a new asset?"

"Could be. And oh no, the numbers belong to a supposedly deceased number."

"Who is it, Finch?"

"Ulrich Kohl. The man who almost killed Mr. Reese three years ago."

**TBC...**


	5. Unsub, your plan is working

***The Library***

"Reese told me about him. I thought he was dead. How is he alive?" Shaw asked.

"That I'm not sure about. I think we just identified the third mystery partner."

"Thanks Finch. I'll tell the team."

"You're welcome Ms. Shaw."

After Finch hung up, she headed into the conference room.

"I have some news," she said.

"Spill," Hotch said.

"I know what those numbers are. They are the first nine digits of a passport belonging to a Ulrich Kohl."

"We identified the bullet in Will's body. It's a 9 millimeter and the gun belongs to a Ulrich Kohl. He killed Will," JJ said.

"And kidnapped my partner."

***Unknown Location***

"Did you have a nice chat with Harold?" Ulrich asked, revealing a hand-held Taser. "Oh, I forgot, you can't talk." He took the tape of his captive's mouth.

"You can shock me as many times as you want with that thing, but you won't get any information out of me," Reese said.

Ulrich shocked him in the chest twice, and the ex-agent winced a bit.

"You will pay for what you did to me. Your boss took away my wife Anja and didn't tell me where she was. And then you had the nerve to show up in my house and accuse me of planning to kill my own wife. What would you say if I took that pretty Samantha?"

"Leave her alone!"

Bzzzzt! Bzzzzt! Two more shocks to the chest.

"I only hope you're alive tomorrow. I have some other things that I want to do to you," Ulrich sneered.

Reese's thoughts drifted to Shaw and the Machine. Had the Machine located him yet? And was she on her way?

The Taser's pain setting was turned up a couple of notches, and Reese starting screaming whenever the weapon touched him.

He began daydreaming, trying to ignore the stinging pain. He thought of Shaw, the woman he was slowly falling in love with. He imagined telling her how he felt once he got of his prison.

_Daydream:_

_Shaw was in his apartment, sitting on his couch. He had invited her over for dinner and was finally going to admit his feelings towards her. _

_He sat down on the couch next to her and gently placed his hand over hers. Shaw intertwined her fingers with his, telling him that this was what she wanted. _

_He leaned in towards her and pressed his lips against hers. _

"_I love you," he said after they broke apart. _

"_I love you too," she responded. _

Another painful Taser shock brought him out of his daydream.

"My boss is going to have so much fun when I hand him over to you," Ulrich said.

Reese passed out from the pain.

***BAU***

Shaw felt her phone buzz. It was a text from the Machine, telling her that it had located John Greer.

"I know who the other kidnapper is. He's someone I've been trying to track down for a while now. His name is John Greer. He's back at the warehouse where you were being held, Rossi," she said.

"Wheels up in two," Hotch said, grabbing his Glock 17.

Shaw, Reid, Rossi, JJ, and the others grabbed weapons and were ready to take this man down.

"How do you know where all these people are?" Reid asked. "It takes us quite a while to locate unsubs. But you're finding them in a matter of minutes. How does that happen?"

"Once the threats against all of you are eliminated and Emily comes back, my partner and I will explain everything," Shaw said.

***Abandoned Warehouse***

The agents entered the warehouse quietly and stealthily. They wanted to be as quiet as possible before taking down the second unsub.

Shaw turned the corner and saw a gray-haired man off in the distance, staring at several computers. She pressed her gun into his skull.

"Don't move, or I will put a bullet in your brain," she threatened.

The others entered and Hotch arrested Greer.

"You've got a lot of explaining to do," the profiler said, leading him out of the warehouse.

Little did they know that someone was hiding in the bushes, waiting to make his move.

The Hispanic leader gave the unknown man a command.

As the team made their way back to their car, the hidden man pressed something.

BOOM.

The profilers all fell to the ground, with Hotch's head slamming against the ground. His vision was blurring.

The others had been knocked completely unconscious, including Greer. Hotch was trying to get over to the rest of his team and wake them up. But he didn't get very far before he heard the sound of a gunshot. He turned his head and saw Greer's motionless and now rapidly bleeding body.

Hotch's vision was still blurry, but he could see the outline of someone's shoes. He heard someone kneel beside him. And then, a needle pricked his neck.

The last thing he heard was the sound of someone laughing menacingly before his world faded into darkness.

A few minutes later, everyone else regained consciousness. Rossi looked over his shoulder and saw Greer's motionless body.

"Reid, JJ, Morgan, Hotch, Shaw, get over here!"

Shaw saw the body and immediately dialed Finch. He answered immediately.

"Ms. Shaw, are you alright? I heard a huge kaboom and then nothing."

"I'm ok. I just got knocked out. But, now we have an even bigger problem," she said.

"What happened?"

"Greer is dead. Looks like he was shot in the chest. We just lost our only living witness that could have led us to Kohl and Reese."

"Great. That's just great. Did you get a good look at the suspect who killed Greer?"

"No, I didn't. I was unconscious at the time. And now, the team is looking very worried. We have one member unaccounted for and that's Mr. Hotchner. His cell phone and credentials are on the ground. I think whoever killed Greer abducted Hotch."

"I'll try to locate Kohl. If I can find him, then maybe he knows about this mystery person."

"Thanks Finch."

After he hung up, Shaw walked over to the group.

"I'm sorry to tell you this, but I think Hotch has been kidnapped."

***Unknown Location* **

Hotch awoke in a brightly lit room, only to discover that he was tied to a metal table and a various assortment of surgical instruments and torture tools were lying on trays next to the table. A man in his late 50s, possibly early 60s walked in.

"Agent Hotchner, glad you could join the party," the man said, revealing a roll of duct tape. Ripping off a strip, he placed it over Hotch's mouth, silencing him.

"What shall I start with, hmm?" the man pondered. He walked over to the instruments and picked up a scalpel and a very hot curling iron.

Hotch's eyes noticed a small black object in the corner of the room. He discovered that the object was a camera.

The man picked up the curling iron and walked over to the camera.

"This is payback, Rossi. You ruined my life, so now you will pay," he sneered into the camera.

He walked over to Hotch, rolled up his sleeve and pressed the scorching hot piece of metal into his arm.

The Unit Chief screamed in pain, but his screams were silenced by the tape.

The man picked up the recently sharpened scalpel and laughed menacingly as he cut Hotch's arm, right on the burned area.

Hotch screamed in pain again, felt something prick his neck, and then felt no more.

**TBC...**


	6. Team, you're caught in danger

***Unknown Location***

Reese awoke the next morning to the sound of something being dragged across the floor. He saw Ulrich and another man dragging a barely conscious Aaron Hotchner into the room. Reese tried to say "Leave him alone!" but unfortunately his mouth was still covered with duct tape.

Ulrich handcuffed the profiler to another chair.

"I forgot, I don't want to hear anyone screaming for help," he sneered, gagging Hotch with the tape. "I have to go out for a while and grab a few supplies, so Simmons here will keep an eye on both of you."

Ulrich left the room and headed out to his car. Once outside, a camera hidden inside his car picked up on him. It alerted the Machine, which alerted Root.

***The Library***

Root ran over to Finch after receiving a text from the Machine.

"Harold, I've got a location on Kohl! He's heading to Downtown Triangle, Virginia. I bet that's where John is being held," she said.

Finch dialed Shaw and told her the news.

"And now, I'm looking at the traffic cameras from two minutes ago. He's at a church in Triangle," Root said.

"Ms. Shaw, please bring Mr. Reese back safely," Finch said before hanging up.

***Church, Triangle, Virginia, 45 minutes later***

Shaw and the BAU arrived at the location where Reese was being held. Everyone pulled out their guns and quietly entered the church.

She, Rossi, and Morgan headed towards the back of the church and found a locked door. Morgan kicked it down and the trio found a bound Reese, his hands handcuffed behind a chair.

"John, we're going to get you out of here!" she said, cutting his bonds, removing the tape, and giving him a backup gun.

"Thanks, Shaw," he said. Everyone walked out of the room and began searching for Hotch. Reid and JJ walked back into the main room of the church to find a man trying to escape, but found himself face-to-face with several SWAT officers. Rossi had told them to come as backup.

JJ walked over to Ulrich and arrested him.

"You have a lot of explaining to do," she said.

"WE FOUND KOHL!" Reid shouted, attracting everyone's attention. The profilers and ex-agents ran into the room, but saw the main doors open and gasped in horror.

A man was holding Hotch in a headlock, pointing a loaded weapon at his head.

"Drop the guns, or he dies," the man said.

"Patrick Simmons, why would we do that? You're surrounded by people pointing guns at you who could possibly kill you at any second. Let Agent Hotchner go, and we'll give you Kohl. You both will be allowed to go free," Reese said.

"I don't want Kohl. I want Agent Hotchner. Don't you remember me, David Rossi? You destroyed my life and now I will ruin yours. I won't ask you again: put the weapons down or I will kill Aaron," Simmons threatened.

Everyone lowered their weapons and Simmons started backing away with his hostage.

"Raise your weapons, and he dies."

The profilers watched helplessly as their beloved Unit Chief was bound and gagged, tossed in the trunk of a car with no license plate, and driven off.

"Maybe Kohl here can tell us where he's going," Shaw said.

***BAU***

Kohl sat in the interrogation room across from Reese and Hotch.

"So, Mr. Kohl, why did you kidnap Mr. Reese here? You will be going to prison for the rest of your life," Hotch said.

"My boss paid me," Kohl said.

"Who is your boss? And do you know Patrick Simmons?"

"I have never seen my boss's face. All I know is that he's Caucasian, but his ID says that he's Hispanic. The name is scratched out on the ID. He's in his 30s or 40s. Simmons is my partner, the boss told him to kill Greer. As to where he's going, he's probably coming back to Quantico. There's a third abandoned warehouse on the city outskirts that serves as his house. I can write down the address."

Kohl wrote down the warehouse's address, and immediately he was locked in a prison cell. The team grabbed their guns and was in their cars in less than a minute.

***Unknown Location***

Simmons half-dragged a bound and gagged Hotch towards a room filled with computers. Another man was sitting in a desk chair, staring at the screens.

"Boss, I brought the FBI agent. Just like you asked," Simmons said.

The boss, not wearing a mask, turned around and faced the two men.

Hotch was astounded to see who the boss was.

"Aaron Hotchner, nice to meet you again. Surprised to see me, aren't you? We're going to have a lot of fun, just like Kohl had with Reese," the boss said.

Simmons ripped the tape of Hotch's mouth.

"It's not possible. You're...you're dead," the profiler said.

"I tricked you into thinking I died. But really, you big and tough BAU agents couldn't figure it out. I faked my death and now it's time to pick up where I left off so many years ago."

He pulled out a scalpel and stabbed the profiler in the chest.

"Don't worry, I didn't hit any veins or arteries. You won't die. But I think it's time to have a chat with Agent Rossi, don't you agree?"

Hotch just glared daggers. Simmons tied him to a chair.

"I guess that's a yes."

The man pulled out a burner phone and dialed Rossi's number.

"I hope to break his little heart into pieces."

***The Boss's house***

Rossi was prepared to enter the warehouse. His gun was pointed in front of him, ready to fire when he pressed the trigger. Just as he was about to have the SWAT officers enter first, he felt his cell phone ring. He had a look of worry on his face.

"Agent Rossi speaking," he said.

"So good to hear your voice again after all these years. Unfortunately, that's not the point," a taunting voice said.

Rossi put his phone on speaker. "Who is this?"

"You don't deserve to know my name, at least not yet. But I think I have something of yours."

"Where's Aaron?"

"Right here beside me. But unfortunately he's tied up at the moment, so he can't make it to the phone."

"Let him go!" Rossi demanded angrily.

"I don't think so, Rossi. You're the one that ruined my life. So I went after Aaron's family. And now I'm going to pick up where I left off."

"No, it can't be. You're dead."

"I tricked all of you."

"Rossi, get away from the warehouse! It's rigged to explode!" Hotch shouted, but was cut off by a slap to the face.

"Not another word out of you," the boss snapped, ripping off tape and gagging him. "Listen to him, Rossi. You'll never get the evidence, and you won't ever find him."

The line went dead, and Rossi suddenly heard a beeping noise.

"It's a bomb, everyone run!" he shouted. Everyone took off running, but they weren't fast enough.

BOOM.

**TBC...**


End file.
